Phil Barber Photography

NEW BLOG! NEW LOCATION!

2008-04-26T08:01:00.002Z

Hi Guys,

Well the last month has been really busy for us behind the scenes. We have been doing some really boring stuff and some really exciting stuff. The boring stuff is finishing our end of year accounts and getting setting up all our budgets and targets for this coming year. Although boring also really essential to maintain a good business.

The exciting stuff is that we have moved the blog to a new location and brightened it up. It also allows us to post our images in a much larger format so you can get a better look at them.

The new blog can be found at http://www.philbarberblog.com

Make sure you bookmark this in your browser.

The old blog will stay online so you can come back and look and the stuff we have posted over the last year. But as we move into the new wedding season make sure you come over the new blog.

Emma & GJ 5th April 2008

2008-04-07T15:35:00.007Z

We had a lovely day on Saturday at Emma & Gert Jan's wedding. As always (and in what's becoming a bit of a tradition) it was "the best wedding we've ever done!!" (Alright, Emma???!!)

After a beautiful church service it was back to Woodlands for the reception. GJ is Dutch and loads of his family and friends had come over from Holland for the weekend. It was great to meet them all. Also, with the Dutch influence, the flowers on the day were naturally amazing - beautiful Yorkshire white roses and of course hundreds of tulips. In fact my image below of Emma's bouquet reminds me a bit of some of the old Dutch masters.

Thanks Emma & GJ for inviting us to be part of your day. We were very happy and honoured to share it with you.

Weekend Ahead with Emma & GJ

2008-04-04T12:36:00.003Z

Well we are currently getting ready for our next wedding this weekend. Emma and GJ are a great couple and after attending the rehearsal last night the wedding day is going to be a lot of fun. With GJ being Dutch there should also be some interesting twists on the day. I will post some images from the day at the end of the weekend.

Also below are some images from London last weekend. This is the gang on the top of the London Eye. The picture was taken by my sister Sarah who kindly put us all up for the 3 nights. Normally the house is a quiet haven with only Cash the cat to keep her company. I think she was really happy to see us leave on Tuesday. Thank you Sarah for putting us up and being a great hostess.

The kids were trying to look very cool during the trip.

A well earned rest and ice cream!

Skater Girl!

London Baby!

2008-04-01T22:50:00.003Z

I just got back from 4 days in London ( My home town - kind of - I was born there!). Spent the time with Lou and kids doing the whole tourist thing. Will post more details later but for now here are a few images from trip.

Set up information from shoot

2008-03-27T13:15:00.002Z

We have had a few people who have sent us an e-mail asking about the set up from the shoot we did a few days ago. So I have made up a couple of technical sheets to give a bit more detail of the shot shown.
I hope this information is useful to some people.

Studio Shoot with Roma

2008-03-26T00:15:00.005Z

Yesterday had the opportunity to spend a few hours with a great group of people to take some studio shots of Roma. The shoot was arranged by Roma who was looking to refresh her portfolio of images for the model agencies in the Leeds area. Thom was the lead photographer for the day but allowed me to have a go at some set ups as well. Make-up for the day was done by Aimee and did an excellent job in getting Roma set up for 3 or 4 different changes of hair and clothes.
Thank you for letting me be part of the day guys! We will do this again very soon. For further images from the shoot click on the SLIDESHOW link.

Awareness Test

2008-03-22T22:02:00.004Z

One thing about what we do at weddings is always looking out for those key moments, that special look between two people. So we need to be on our toes all the time. I found this awareness test on You Tube today to see if I'm any good at this.
Watch the video and see how many times you think the white team pass the ball!

I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I

lOl - I got the right amount of passes but completely missed the MOONDANCING BEAR :-) Maybe I should give up my day job.

0 out 10 for awarness today lOl !!

Kath and James 15th March 2008

2008-03-21T16:31:00.010Z

Last Saturday I met up with Kath & James at Kirstall Abbey in Leeds. The abbey is one of Britain's best preserved and was founded in 1152. It made for a great backdrop to do the Pre Wedding shoot of Kath & James.

These guys are getting married in mid July this year and seem so relaxed about the whole matter which is great. Both seemed a little nervous to start with but as was we were shooting James seemed to just love the camera. ( Work it baby!). The weather held out for us as well. It was due to be heavy rain all day. But it stayed dry for the whole morning but by the time I had got home by 2pm the rain had set in.

Thanks for a great morning guys and a lovely coffee afterwards hope you enjoy the images.

If you want to see more pictures of Kath & Jame's Pre-wedding shoot click on the link to the SLIDESHOW.

We have started using some new software to show images on line. It is by a great company called Into the Darkroom and they are based over in Arizona US. Meghan Bingle helped us get up and running with it this week. Thanks for you help Meghan the software is a superb.

Sarah & Andrew

2008-03-12T14:40:00.005Z

So as promised, here are some images from the final pre-wedding shoot of the weekend. Sarah and Andrew are a great couple and had come up from London to get away from the Big Smoke. So as a complete contrast we met in a car park near Millstone rocks which is in the Peak District. It has to be said the weather was not your typical Spring like day but the area we walked up to was quite sheltered and the views were amazing.
One of the things I love about what we do is that I can go from doing a shoot in the centre of Manchester and then within 24 hours find myself up a rocky outcrop in the middle of the Peak District doing another shoot while it's blowing a gale. Afterwards it was back down to a local cafe for hot cup of coffee!
Below are some of the images from the shoot.

Busy weekend - part 2

2008-03-10T22:53:00.008Z

OK, now for some images of pre-wedding shoot number 2. I met up with Kirsty and Vince at Golden Acre Park in Leeds early on Saturday morning, and had a super couple of hours with them.

I've been to Golden Acre Park a few times before - it's a beautiful spot and I really felt like spring was just around the corner even though there were a couple of times it looked like it was going to pour down. Here are a few of the images from the session:

Time for a Nice Cup of Tea and a Sit Down!!

2008-03-09T20:51:00.008Z

Yay!! I made it to Sunday evening after a hectic few days. Since Friday I've done 3 pre-wedding shoots and a wedding fair, so 'twas a busy weekend.

I'll post a few images from all the shoots from the weekend, but I'll start off with the first which I did on Friday.

I travelled to Manchester to meet up with Helen & Wayne whose wedding we're covering in June. I had such a fantastic time with them in the city centre, and I think we managed to get some really interesting shots. See what you think:

To see some more images please click HERE!
Part 2 is to follow...........

Busy week - and more to come!

2008-03-05T09:21:00.008Z

Hello again!

It's been a while since I last posted - eight days in fact, which is something I wanted to avoid this year. 2008 resolutions and all that.....

I've had a very busy week, though. After I got back from Focus last Tuesday I started on some boring stuff (finances, updating records etc.....yuk) which always takes about 10 times longer than I expect. I did have a few wedding consultations, though, which are always great. I love meeting new potential clients. I've also been busy working on John & Paulette's wedding images - their slideshow should be online very soon. And at the weekend I had a lovely time at Hazel & Ben's pre-wedding shoot. Another great couple-I seem to attract them!! They're getting married in May. I'll post a few images of the shoot below.

Yesterday I went into Manchester to do a quick recce for a pre-wedding shoot I'm doing there on Friday. I also met up with a really good friend of mine, Pali Rao, who is a superb photographer (and just a little bit insane.....) I haven't seen him for ages, so it was fantastic meeting up with him and putting the world to rights.

I've got another busy few days ahead of me too. Apart from the Manchester shoot on Friday, I've got 2 pre-wedding shoots, a client meeting and a wedding fair this weekend. I think I need a holiday!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. the project 366 thing - I have been taking pictures, honest! I just haven't had time to process and upload them yet. Something else for the to do list.

Fun time at Focus '08

2008-02-26T22:15:00.007Z

Well I had a great time down at Focus '08 the last couple of days. It really is the place to go if you want to immerse yourself in the photographic industry. Monday morning I spent time on the Annabel Williams CPT stand. Catherine Connor & Jane Breakell are fab and helped Lou and myself a few years ago to get ourselves established in this world of photography. It was great talking to other people who were wanting to start on a similar journey. I hope I didn't put you guys off and inspired you to take your first step into changing your life.

The rest of the time was going round checking out new suppliers and products also saying hello to some of our existing suppliers. When walking round I kept bumping into a lot of fellow photographers. Particularly Andy Sutcliffe and his wife Gill. They are a great couple and have an excellent photography business based in Halifax. We seemed to put the world to right over several cups of tea.

Finally check out this picture below. It's an ice sculpture of a Canon camera on the Lexar stand.

The largest camera seen at the show. Pretty cool!

Michelle & Matthew pre-wedding shoot

2008-02-24T22:01:00.006Z

I did a great pre-wedding shoot today at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (yes, I know I've been there many times before - I'll go there many times again as its such an inspiring location).

Today I met up with Michelle and Matthew. This was the second time we've tried their shoot. The first time was back in November, but the weather was utterly appalling, so we had to postpone. This time the weather was a bit kinder, although a couple of showers meant we had to use some indoor locations.

Anyway, it was great to get to know Michelle and Matthew a bit better - they were fantastic models and really good company. I'm really looking forward to their wedding which is in May.

Here are a few pictures from today.

Interesting Day

2008-02-21T21:58:00.006Z

Well, my job often throws up a few surprises, but today was, well, different.

I got a call last night from the Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford - I occasionally do jobs for them (I was taking pictures of their newly refurbished penthouse suite last week). Anyway, they had some guests in today and they asked me to pop along and take some pictures of them. It turned out to be the shadow cabinet (that's the Bigwigs in the Conservative party to anyone not familiar with British politics).

I found myself, along with a group of press photographers, being ushered into a meeting room where everything was happening. I have to say it was very surreal snapping away while David Cameron and chums were discussing how they were going to overthrow the Labour party and TAKE OVER THE WORLD MWAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a few of the pics I took. Once I got into the shoot it was just lke any of the commercial jobs we do, but it was fun to be there.

Focus on Imaging NEC

2008-02-20T22:14:00.009Z

Focus on Imaging is one of Europe's biggest imaging shows. It covers everything from capture through to output and beyond. It is the motorshow for photographers. If you like all things techie then it's a great opportunity to play with all the new cameras and gadgets. If you are photographer or thinking of starting out it is a great place to come to see the industry in action. There are seminars by commercial photographers / wedding photographers / fashion photographers.
When Lou and I started out a few years ago this was a great source of inspiration and gave us a opportunity to talk to suppliers like our album supplier Queensberry who come over every year from New Zealand.

This year I am on the Annabel Williams stand E22 for a couple of hours from 11am on Monday 25th. These guys are great and helped give our business the direction it needed when we were new to the industry. If you are interested in starting a business in the world of photography come over and have a chat it would be great to see you.

If you are coming to Focus and want to meet up for a beer and a chat afterwards I'm going to be down there on the Monday and Tuesday just drop me line.

If you want to know more then click to the FOCUS Website.

Paulette & John's Wedding 15th Feb

2008-02-18T11:46:00.010Z

We covered Paulette & John's wedding on Friday and "IT WAS THE BEST WEDDING WE"VE EVER DONE!!" (Was that OK, Paulette!!???!!!)

Seriously, it was a super day, right from joining the boys at the snooker hall first thing in the morning up until we left after the first dance at the evening reception. John and Paulette were such a great couple to work with - we really enjoyed being around them and their friends and family on Friday.

They're due to fly off to exotic climes on honeymoon and escape this seriously freezing weather. Have a great time, guys and we'll see you when you get back. Thank you for inviting us to be part of your day. xxx

Valentines Fair Leeds 2008

2008-02-16T22:33:00.003Z

Well we had a great few days off this week. Spent some quality time with the kids with it being half term. It is the time every year that the large Valentines fair comes to town. The kids took us down for the afternoon this week. Now I'm not put off by the big rides but some of these look like pure torture! I think I will stick to the Bumper Cars.

Yesterday we did our second wedding of the year with Paulette and John. These guys are fab and had such a blast! Tomorrow I will post in more detail about the day.

Project 366 - Updated

2008-02-11T12:53:00.000Z

It was a really foggy start to the day so thought I would try and get some soft light images. The one above was taken at the local Ikea on top of their multi-storey car park. I have also worked on the rest of the images that I have taken over the last week - So the 'Project 366' gallery is now bang up to date. It would be great to get some feed back on what peoples favourites are up to this point. Just drop a note in the comments section of this post.

Emma & GJ

2008-02-10T09:18:00.000Z

I had a lovely day yesterday - the weather was gorgeous and it felt like the first real day of spring. I also had the pleasure of meeting up again with Emma & GJ for their pre-wedding shoot. It was great to get to know them both better. Their wedding is in April - let's hope the weather is as beautiful as it was yesterday!

SUN Awards 2007 Exhibition - Leeds

2008-02-08T10:43:00.000Z

Last night I got invited to the opening evening for the exhibition of the 'SUN AWARDS 2007' which took place at the Design and Innovation Centre in Leeds.

SUN stands for 'Shot up North' and exists to promote the talents of photographers based from the Midlands all the way up to Scotland. There is an annual judged competition and the winners for 2007 were on show last night. The photography covers several disciplines of Advertising, Design, Fashion and Editorial.

It was great to go and have a beer and a chat with some of the winning photographers. Rufus Crosby was an advertising photographer I had a good chat with and he gave a really interesting insight to the world of advertising photography. I loved the simplicity of

his two winning images - The Snail and The Coke Can - check them out below.

You see all the winning images at the Shot up North website. Also if you are based in the North and want to enter to 2008 competition. The call for entries is at the beginning of May. The information is on their website

Chinese New Year

2008-02-07T17:37:00.000Z

Happy Year of the Rat to all our Chinese readers!

We were down at our local Chinese emporium today stocking up on yummy goodies and I took a few shots of the produce - it's so great to see such fantastic and colourful stuff on the shelves, even if I haven't got a clue what most of them are!

Anyway, however you're celebrating, have a great time!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!! 恭喜发财

Photoicon Magazine

2008-02-07T15:19:00.001Z

There is a new magazine that came out last year. If you are into modern contemporary photography it is definitely worth a look.

PHOTOICON "revists the modern masters pf photography, examines the new techniques and technology - and showcases the artists currently exploring these new directions." So if you are looking for things to help inspire your photographic style then Photoicon is a good place to start.

There is an article in this issue about French photographer Nicolas Guerin. He took the image of Daniel Craig you see on the front cover. I first saw some of his work last year and thought it was amazing.

Also take a look at their website. It has some excellent articles which are not in the magazine - Stunning galleries of new and old imagery and reviews on camera equipment.

Finally thank you all who have become my 'Friends' over the last couple of days :-)

I have now moved into double figures - and now understand the 'Wall' a little more. Not to sure about the 'Poking' though :lol:

FaceBook

2008-02-04T11:05:00.001Z

Well I have finally entered the 21st century. Just when I thought I was going to go old and grey - I have set up our Facebook account. Now I'm told by the few friends that I have that this is the future!

As you can see currently I'm Billy No Mates, so please be kind to an out of touch old man and be my friend!! Become my Friend and leave a message on my 'WALL' ( I really don't know what that means but I would like to find out :-) )

SNOW - But only just

2008-02-02T17:04:00.000Z

Being big kids, and with no weddings today, we were really excited by the prospect of snow, and were glued to the weather forecast all day yesterday.

Well, the snow did come, but not exactly with a vengeance here in Leeds. All we seemed to see on the news were roads in northern England under gorgeous, photogenic drifts. Er, hello??? We're in northern England and we had approximately one inch of the white stuff. It's not quite the same when the kids have to clear half the garden to make one snowball. Still, before it (very rapidly) melted I was able to get a few nice shots - it was hardly a picturesque alpine scene, though. When I were a lad, we got 6 feet every winter etc. etc..........

Yorkshire Wedding Fairs

2008-02-01T18:19:00.000Z

As I wrote in a previous post, wedding fair season is here!!

This Sunday we're at the Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford. It's a gorgeous and it's recently been completely refurbished, so there are cool, modern interiors set against the stunning grand Victorian architecture. It's a city centre hotel, and appeals to hip and trendy young couples! As photographers we rarely get the chance to photograph weddings in more urban locations, but we can get every bit as good images in a city centre as we can in the countryside.

We've got a few city centre weddings this year which we're really looking forward to so watch this space!

If you're planning on braving the weather and coming along to the wedding fair this weekend please come and say hello - we're very friendly!!

Next weekend we're at the Hazlewood Castle wedding fair. It's another gorgeous venue and one we love working at. It's great to get these wedding fairs in now while its still early on in the year and relatively quiet for us. As soon as spring starts it's pretty much non stop with weddings most weekends. It's a good job we love it so much!

Marc Chagall @ ArtCo

2008-01-31T12:25:00.000Z

Back in the day, before our children began to swallow up most of our disposable income, we used to buy quite a bit of contemporary art. We usually bought it from artco run by our friends Simon and Leah. It's a great little gallery and not only do they have some beautiful contemporary stuff for us to drool over, but more recently they have been mounting exhibitions of work from some well known 20th century artists such as Matisse, Picasso and Dali.

An invitation to their latest show plopped on the mat a couple of days ago - Chagall this time. Here's a bit of blurb from the catalogue:

"Marc Chagall, born in Russia in 1887, established a reputation as one of the best-loved artists of the 20th Century. His work was dominated by various rich sourses of imagery: memories of Jewish life, Russian folklore and the Bible. After studying in St.Petersburg he went to Paris in 1910. On arriving at the Gare du Nord he was overwhelmed by the colours, novelty and bright lights of the city which immediately informed his art.

In 1922 he first experimented with printmaking and fell in love with the process. This exhibition include etchings from the Fables of la Fontaine and lithographs from The Paris Series, The Bible Series and Odyssey Suite. Whilst the ownership of a Chagall painting is, for the majority of us, out of the question, his original prints made in small editions are relatively accessible."

We love going to these small but perfectly formed exhibitions - seeing work up close by such fantastic artists is always an inspiration to us.

The opening day is on Saturday 9th February between 11am - 4pm. The Gallery is open daily 9am - 5pm during the week and on Saturdays 10am - 4pm.

What a GREAT Weekend we had

2008-01-28T14:59:00.000Z

First Alex & Paul's wedding on Saturday

We had such a great day - the wedding ceremony took place at the beautiful St. Anne's Catholic Church in Keighley, then it was back to Chevin Country Park Hotel for the reception. I was joined on the day by two great friends and fantastic photographers - Mark Miller - & -John Archibald

- thanks guys, it was a pleasure as always!

Alex and Paul were an amazing couple and didn't mind braving the windy conditions to get some romantic pictures of them around the lake. They were a joy to be with and to photograph.

We wish both of you every happiness for the future - thank you for letting us be part of your special day.

Phil x

Take a look at a few more images in the slideshow below -Enjoy!

On Sunday we had the pleasure of exhibiting at the Weetwood Hall wedding fair in Leeds. It was so busy, and I didn't have Lou with me to help out as she usually does, so I had to brave the crowds alone!

It was great, though, and I met some lovely people. If you were at the wedding fair yesterday and I didn't manage to speak to you for long, please drop us an e-mail or pick up the phone and we can have a chat. You can also download some information about our service and prices here on the blog.

<-------------- !!!!

Queensberry Albums

2008-01-24T15:18:00.001Z

We've just added a new link to our blog - you can access it on the left of the page - giving a bit of information about our albums. We sometimes get asked by prospective clients about our products, and our albums in particular. We usually encourage people to arrange a meeting to see them 'in the flesh', but we felt we had to put up some details for everyone to see.

We're so proud of the albums we produce, although a great deal of that credit goes to Queensberry, our suppliers. We only use Queensberry, as we (and lots of other people) believe they are the best in the world - we've certainly never come across any of better quality, and we've seen a lot!

The beauty of Queensberry albums is the unlimited capacity for creativity - each album is handmade to our specification, so what that means to us and to our clients is that we can design each album specifically around the chosen images, whether there are 10 or 200 of them. Everything, from size, page colour, cover material and image sizes within the album is completely bespoke, so no two albums are ever the same. Plus we are also able to offer both matted and digital styles, so we can offer our clients a classic or contemporary look to their albums.

I could wax lyrical for ages about these albums, but I won't! But come and see some up close at our forthcoming wedding fairs - we'd love to share the magic!!!!!!!!!

I love my clients

2008-01-23T13:32:00.000Z

It's great when we get letters and cards from clients who thank us for the photographs we take for them. It really means a lot to us and makes us feel that we a have achieved what we set out to to do for them.

I had a card today though that made me laugh a lot.

When I opened it, on the front was a photograph of ME!.

Not something I was expecting - Alison and Mark whose wedding we did last December sent the card. Thank you guys for the card it really did bring a big smile to my face. Also thank you for your kind words inside.

I'm glad Prague was fun.

Rain Rain Go Away

2008-01-22T16:32:00.000Z

All it seems to have done for the last 3-4 days is Rain Rain Rain. Yorkshire seemed to get the worst of it and according to the news half of Leeds was supposed to be underwater. So I went for a drive today trying to find all this flooding. I couldn't find many affected areas until I came across some workmen trying to pump water out of the main Leeds to Skipton rail line.

I knew it was a great photo opportunity, so I got out of the car and asked the workmen if I could come onto the tracks to take some images of the flooded track. To my surprise they said yes.

It is something I have learned in business is that if you don't ask you will never know. The worst anything someone can say to you is NO, but in my experience they rarely do.

So if there is a someone you want to network with to help your business then go and visit them, make an appointment, the worst they can say is NO but you might find they are just as keen as you to network and you could have start up a new business alliance.

So Phil's lesson of the day (!!) is: Go out there and talk to people - it's not as scary as you think!

Bedtime Reading

2008-01-19T17:03:00.000Z

One thing I"m going to try and do a lot more this year is read a lot more books. Lou will tell you that I'm not much if a book worm - instead I tend to read magazines and surf the net a lot. A want to vary the type of books I read - ones to help inspire me for the business and then ones for me to enjoy personally.

So this month I'm starting off with two. The first is 'The Anatomy of Buzz' by Emmanuel Rosen. I did read this at the beginning of last year but the internet has grown so much and there are always so many new ways of marketing yourself, that I thought I would give it another read. I first came across this book when it was recommended by an American photographer David Jay. He has a great philosophy about his business and how he promotes himself, which gives him so much freedom and control over his life.

The second book is called "Italian Grammar". Sounds a bit dry, I admit, but it's for a reason. One side of our business we would love to develop is to do wedding photography in Italy. My parents have a house out there and we have spent many a summer in Italy thinking wouldn't it be great if we could do weddings here. So one personal goal this year is to start learning the language. In the meantime if there is anybody out there who is getting married out in Italy and still needs a photographer please get in touch - We would love to hear from you:-)

Final look at 2007 Weddings

2008-01-16T00:24:00.000Z

This past year I had the best clients ever, and it is these guys that make the pictures look great. It has been so much fun and an honour to take them. Looking back at these photos (and there were getting on for 10,000 to look through!) has really made me smile this evening and remember some great times. It's so fantastic to have a job where you're sharing peoples' happiest days - I love it!

So before we go headlong into 2008, here are just a few of my favourite wedding images in a slideshow - Enjoy!

Helen & Terry Pre Wedding Shoot

2008-01-13T22:57:00.001Z

Before I went over to the wedding fair this afternoon I was up in Saltaire doing Helen & Terry's pre-wedding shoot. Although I've been up there lots in the past, I've never done a shoot there, and I think I'm hooked! It's such a fantastic location - I think I'll definitely use it again.

Helen & Terry were great models and I really enjoyed getting to know them a bit better. Their wedding is in May and Lou and I are really looking forward to what should be a great day.

Now that we're in the new year we've got quite a few pre-wedding shoots booked in, so keep checking in to see some more.

Wedding Fair

2008-01-13T22:53:00.000Z

We had a good day today at the Midland Hotel wedding fair. We met some really nice people as we always do at wedding fairs - hello to you if we saw you today!

Meeting Time

2008-01-11T13:07:00.000Z

We had to go into Leeds today and decided to have a quick business meeting in Starbucks (well, that was our excuse!)

It's great every now and then to do some work in a different environment - and to get out from in front of the computer screen - we had a nice long chat about some plans for 2008.

We've got some new and different ideas for projects this year - keep stopping by the blog . We'll keep you updated with what's happening in the business.

Now what a nice way to spend Friday mornings. Kids are at school so I can have a quite coffee with my lady wife and of course that fine chocolate brownie. I'll have to row a few more metres tonight to work that off.

The New Year diet didn't last long.

My most favouritest Lens....!

2008-01-10T22:28:00.000Z

I am in the middle of producing a slideshow reviewing some of our best work during 2007. Some of my favourite images were produced using a lens which we got last year - the 50mm f1.2.

This is such a great prime lens. It just gives sharp images time after time after time. I love it for doing detail shots - the fade off into the background is amazing and makes for some really effective images.

This is has become my favourite lens by far - but we're currently saving the pennies for an 85mm f1.2, so next year I may well have a new favourite!

These are two images from a wedding back in November which give you an idea of how beautiful the drop-off is using the 50mm at 1.2.

I'm hoping to add to my growing kit even more this year with some other lenses, lighting and maybe some other gadgets which are not necessary but have me drooling nonetheless.

So just in case any of you are - like me - sad techy geeks, I'll keep you informed of all my major purchases in 2008 (please don't snore at the back!!)

We love APPLE!

2008-01-08T14:18:00.001Z

I just want to let you know about a great experience that I had down at the Apple store in Meadowhall Sheffield. Last year we took the business decision to switch from a PC based system to an Apple system. We now run the business on iMacs and Mac Book Pro's.

They do come at a price but I have been reassured by their level of customer service which I experienced today. The power supply for the Mac Book Pro was not charging the battery properly. So I booked a slot at their 'Genius Bar' on line last night. I turned up at the store at 10.15am. Was greeted at the door and was directed to where I needed to go. My name was up in lights on some plasma screens on the wall.

Another member of the team welcomed me - he knew my name and was already aware of my problem. He discovered very quickly that the issue was with the power supply and then proceeded to swap it out for me. Now I'm the owner of a brand new power supply. The whole process from beginning to end was less than 15 minutes. FAB!!

Running our own business we are very aware that we need to offer our customers impeccable service. We really try to do this - it's relatively easy for a very small company like Phil Barber Photography to give good, personal customer service, but much harder for big international ones. Apple seems to have managed it, though.

Oh, and they make gorgeous stuff too (now, if only I could persuade Lou to let me have an iphone...........!)

Wedding Fair Season is upon us again

2008-01-07T19:18:00.000Z

Now that 2008 has started and the Christmas decorations have been packed away, it's time to turn our attentions to the new wedding fair season.

We really enjoy wedding fairs - it's a great way of meeting new clients. It's always nice to be able to meet couples face to face initially rather than over the phone, and I'm sure from a bride & groom's point of view it's good to have the opportunity to look at some of our work and have a chat and see if they like us!! It's also a great opportunity for us to meet other wedding suppliers.

Anyway, our first wedding fair is this Sunday 13th at The Midland Hotel in Bradford. We've got a few more over the next few months - I've listed the details on the left.

If you're planning on coming along please drop by our stand and say hello!

1 Million Metre Challenge

2008-01-05T12:45:00.000Z

One of my other goals that I have set myself this year is to row 1 million metres!! I got a rowing machine a couple of years ago and I have used it on and off. Probably more off than on though. So in setting this goal it should keep me motivated during the year. I might lose a bit of weight as well!

You can follow how i'm doing by looking at the running total on the left hand at the bottom.

Down with the kids

2008-01-04T23:30:00.000Z

We paid a visit to some friends today, and (predictably) what started out as a civilised get together went rapidly downhill when 5 under sixes decided to show each other their Christmas presents with hilarious consequences. Oh how we laughed as Playmobile ricocheted off the walls onto our heads!! We managed to calm things down a bit by suggesting they expel a bit of energy in healthy outdoor play and sent them out to play on the cobbles with a couple of skateboards. We stayed indoors to bathe our Lego wounds. Here's a photo of the young scamps - there's another on my project 366 site.

Project 366

2008-01-03T20:08:00.001Z

Well I have started my task of taking a picture a day called 'Project 366'. The picture above is the one for today and can be found with all the others via the link on the left hand side of the blog.
2007 was a good business year for us but found I had little time to actually just go out and play with the camera. So the idea behind this 'Project 366' is to make me pick up the camera every day throughout 2008.

It reminds me of an article written by a great outdoor photographer called Charlie Waite. The article is mainly about ensuring photographers keep practising. "Photographers must photograph!" he said. But it is the final lines that I still have on my wall in my office.

"For a photographer to deny themselves regular photography is tantamount to a starvation diet. I urge you to eat."

I can't claim the idea for Project 366 as my own (I nicked it from another photographer in fact!)so I encourage you all to start your own project 366 for 2008 (or project 363 now...) I'd love to see some of your photos so please get in touch with me to share them.

The sun rises on 2008

2008-01-01T15:02:00.001Z

Hello world and welcome to 2008! I thought I'd start as I mean to go on this year, and this is my New Year's resolution - please feel free to send abusive messages if I don't stick to it!

I'm going to start a visual diary and take a picture a day (please don't worry if you've booked me for your wedding - I promise to take more than one picture on your day!) and I'm going to post them online to a separate site (link to follow). Hopefully I'll have a great record of the whole year by the time we get to 2009. Here are a few I took today on our family walk. I'll try and take a real variety of pictures which will stretch my imagination a bit more than it's used to - please look in every now and then to see what we've been up to.

I'm going to be posting a bit more often on my blog too this year - not just shoots we've done but a few ideas I've had - philosophical musings if you will (!!)

Anyway, enough from me for now. I'm really looking forward to the coming year, and I hope 2008 brings you all you are hoping for. Please continue getting in touch with me. I love hearing from people from all over the world. It gives me a lovely warm squishy feeling inside to know that that, even thought the world can be a pretty nasty place sometimes, the vast majority of us are pretty nice people!!!

Happy New Year!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T10:08:00.000Z

For all you kids out there you can follow Santa's progress with the link to this Santa Tracker

We're signing off now for a few days to enjoy our family Christmas. We'd like to wish everyone we've had the pleaseure of working with in 2007 a very merry Christmas, and a very happy new year. We look forward to meeting some more fantastic people in 2008.

Lots of love

The Barber Family xxxxxxxx

Alison & Mark

2007-12-18T15:53:00.000Z

Well we have just finished our final wedding of 2007 and what a lovely intimate wedding it was.
I felt really priviledged to be present and record the occasion for Alison and Mark.

It was a beautiful crisp Winters day - cold and dry with deep blue skies and a low bright sun.

Below are some images from the day.

Thank you Alison & Mark for a great day. It was a lovely wedding to sign 2007 off on.

Beautiful Model!!

2007-12-07T22:38:00.000Z

I kind of took a day off today - we had a friend visiting, and I've been promising for ages to take some pictures of her daughter who is 20 months old.

She proved to be a great model as you can see - such a bright spark. I haven't seen her since the beginning of the year and the change in her is unbelievable. It's such a cliche, but since having children myself I've realised how quickly time passes, and how important it is to remember little moments in time like this.

Anyway, I'm really pleased with the pictures. Here are a few of them:

Trip to the Lake District

2007-12-04T12:32:00.000Z

Yesterday I was up in the Lake District at Annabel Williams' studio near Kendal. Annabel is a legend in the photography business and along with her team has really helped us out over the lifetime of
Phil Barber Photography so far.

I was asked to be a speaker at one of their insight days, and had the pleasure of meeting lots of new people who are keen to progress their photography businesses.

Also asked to speak yesterday was a fab photographer called Lisa Aldersley who is based in Manchester. Her enthusiasm was really infectious and her work was amazing. Check her website out.

Thanks to everyone who turned up and spoke to me yesterday - it was great to meet you all and if you want a chat about anything photographic (or otherwise!) drop me an e-mail.

Karen & Rob's Wedding 1st December

2007-12-04T12:20:00.000Z

We were up at Crathorne Hall on Saturday in the far north (well, about as far north as you can go in Yorkshire!) Crathorne is a beautiful location and it's the second time we've been lucky enough to photograph a wedding there this year.

It was Karen & Rob's wedding on Saturday, and it was a truly special day. The weather was a bit unpredictable, but we started off the day with a glorious sunny but cold winter's morning. Karen & Rob had obviously worked really hard to create their dream wedding, but the day itself was really relaxed and informal, and the guests (and us!) had fantastic time.

Thank you for asking us to be part of your day - many congratulations to you both!!!

Karen & Rob

2007-11-26T21:40:00.000Z

After Saturday's festivities I had an early start on Sunday when I drove down to St. Albans for Karen and Rob's pre-wedding shoot. I used to live down there so it was great to revisit old haunts.

Karen and Rob's wedding is next week which we're really looking forward to, and we had a great time yesterday. It was great using totally new locations for the shoot, and I think we got some great results.

See you on Saturday!!

Racheal and Peter

2007-11-26T21:29:00.000Z

We had a fabulous time at Racheal and Peter's wedding on Saturday. We had an early start, although not as early as Racheal and her bridemaids who were at the hairdressers at 5.30am. It was worth it though as Racheal looked stunning.

After the church ceremony it was back to a beautiful reception at Woodlands. Racheal and Peter had chosen a gorgeous black and white theme which had been carried through right down to the guests' outfits. After the wedding breakfast the recption got into full swing in the evening with a casino, cocktail bar and Frank Sinatra tribute. A great day!

Congratulations to you both and enjoy your honeymoon (wherever that may be................!)

Gail & Sean

2007-11-19T11:02:00.000Z

Hello again!

We had a fabulous day on Saturday at Gail and Sean's wedding. It was at Woodlands, and we had a wonderful day. The wedding had a really relaxed, intimate feel about it and the gorgeous autumnal orange and brown colour scheme gave everything a lovely warm and fuzzy glow.

Gail & Sean have now jetted off to the Maldives and are avoiding this grim weather - I only wish they'd wanted us to take some photos of their honeymoon.......maybe not!!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Woodlands Wedding Fair 11th November

2007-11-10T20:34:00.000Z

Just a quick note that we are at the Woodlands Hotel Wedding Fair tomorrow Sunday. If you are still planning your wedding, come down and pay us a visit. It would be great to have a chat about your wedding and you have the chance to look through some of our sample albums and other work. The fair is open from 11am to 4pm.

The address of Woodlands Hotel is below.

Woodlands Hotel
Gelderd Road
Leeds
LS27 7LY

Always learning!!

2007-11-06T09:54:00.000Z

When you are in a routine of photographing weddings and running a business, sometimes you need to stop and play a little.
Which is exactly what I did yesterday. I am always looking at ways of developing my technique and style.

So I had a fab day with Brett Harkness and some fellow photographers around the Lowry centre in Manchester.

Brett is an amazing photographer and with his partner Kristie has built up a fantastic photography business.

It was all about Winter weddings yesterday and I had a chance to play around with my flash and experiment a bit with some new techniques.

Below are a couple of the results from yesterday.

Mark & Michelle's Wedding

2007-11-03T19:22:00.000Z

Well another month has been and gone, so it's goodbye October. I can't believe the year is nearly over - it seems to have only just begun!

Anyway, November got off to a fantastic start on Friday when I had the pleasure of photographing Mark & Michelle's wedding. Lou wasn't able to be there so I was more than ably assisted by Mark Miller who is an amazing photographer and a very good friend of ours.

Michelle & Mark work out in the UAE but flew back to the cold of England last week for their wedding. The reception was held in the Midland Hotel, Bradford. It's a grand Victorian Hotel right in the city centre, and was a beautiful backdrop for the photos, particularly the stunning ballroom where the 160 guests were wined and dined.

Michelle and Mark - thank you for involving us in your day and we wish you a very happy married life together.

Here are a few photos of the day:

Paulette & John Pre Wedding Shoot

2007-10-31T19:25:00.000Z

It was Paulette and John's pre-wedding shoot on Saturday which we did once again at my favourite location - Yorkshire Sculpture Park. It's so beautiful at this time of year, and Saturday was a typical bright Autumn day.

It was great meeting up with John & Paulette again, and we're really looking forward to their wedding next year.

Spooky!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-10-29T18:19:00.000Z

As it's the last day of the school holidays today (pesky teacher training days!) we thought we'd entertain the kids with a family pumpkin carving session.

Well inevitably after about 4.5 minutes the kids got bored and wandered off to play, so it was up to Lou and I to finish scooping stringy stuff and carving a suitably scary face using the bluntest, smallest knife in the world.

Still, they made it back downstairs for this photo:

Off now to scrape orange gunk from under my nails!!!

Time for a rest!

2007-10-28T23:03:00.000Z

As expected we've had a tiring (but enjoyable) weekend. We had a good time today at the wedding fair at Hazlewood Castle (Hello to anyone we met there today!) and yesterday I had a really fun time at John and Paulette's pre-wedding shoot. I haven't processed the images from that yet but as soon as I have in the next day or so I'll post a few up.

On Friday, though, we had Tracy and Mark's wedding. As expected it was such a lovely day. Even the weather was kind (if a bit cold later on!!) Tracy and Mark had a fantastic time as demonstrated by the huge grins they both wore all day! Here are a few images of the day:

Tracy and Mark - we both wish you so much happiness for your future together. It was an honour to be there at the beginning of your married life.

Busy Weekend Ahead!

2007-10-23T16:29:00.000Z

Well we have a really busy weekend ahead:

On Friday we are covering the wedding of Tracy and Mark.

We're really excited about it - they're a great couple. It would be fantastic if this gorgeous Autumn weather continues, but either way it will be an amazing day.

Then it's up bright and early on Saturday for Paulette & John's pre wedding shoot, which I'm really looking forward to (did I ever mention I LOVE doing pre-wedding shoots.........??!!)

And finally on Sunday we are at the wedding fair at Hazlewood Castle. If anybody wants to come along and say hello we'd be really chuffed to have a chat. We've managed to get babysitters in so Lou is coming along too. So you've got the opportunity to speak directly to The Boss!

Phew!!!! If we've recovered by Monday we'll post up a few images from the weekend.

Phil x

Fantastic Autumn Shoot

2007-10-15T20:57:00.000Z

I had a great time yesterday at one of my favourite locations - Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I had the great pleasure of shooting Jen, her boyfriend Daniel and her mum. Jen and Daniel are moving out to Australia next year and wanted some pictures taking before they go - no doubt so they can remember the fantastic British weather while they're sunning themselves in Oz.

Actually it was a beautiful autumn day and the colours in the trees created some amazing natural backdrops for the photos. Here are a few piccies of Jen:

Racheal & Peter

2007-10-01T12:54:00.000Z

A couple of days ago I had a great morning working with Racheal and Peter. They're getting married in November, but it was their pre-wedding shoot on Saturday.

They chose a currently out of use golf course near their home for the location. Not only did it provide some superb backdrops for the photos but it also gave their beautiful dog Frank the chance to run aroung in familiar surroundings.

I love pre-wedding shoots as a tool for getting to know clients. Most people are pretty nervous in front of the camera to start with, but it's amazing how quickly everyone tends relax into the shoot. It's a great way of building a relationship with them, so that by the time the wedding day comes around we know each other that much better and the clients know what to expect. It also makes for much more natural and relaxed shots if they see me as a friend rather than The Photographer!

Anyway, here are a few images from Saturday. Enjoy!

Katie & Chris

2007-09-02T16:22:00.001Z

I haven't updated my blog for a couple of weeks now as we've been pretty busy with a few weddings and shoots, but I just thought I'd post up the most recent wedding we've done.

It was Katie and Chris's Big Day on Friday, and Lou and I had the pleasure of covering the all day celebrations: we got to see all the preparations first thing, both Katie's and Chris's (because grooms have grooming needs too!!) and then it was off to the church for the service. Guest of honour at the ceremony was Katie & Chris's chocolate labrador Ozzy, who was nearly excited as his mum & dad!! He looked very smart in his ivory bow, and coordinated very well with the chocolate and cream colour scheme!

Then it was back to Woodlands Hotel for the reception with Katie and Chris's wonderful family and friends. All in all it was a great day, and once again made us realise how privileged we are to be able to share such special times.

Katie and Chris, you make such a great couple and we wish you both every happiness.

Leah naming ceremony

2007-08-18T09:42:00.000Z

Before we went on our little short break, we were asked to cover Leah's naming ceremony. It was a fantastic and intimate ceremony, and a very happy occasion all round. Leah proved to be a perfect model. I love photographing children - they're so full of spontaneity and boundless energy which makes it easy to capture images which are full of life. Once again the weather was perfect which was amazing luck.

Leah - thank you for inviting me to your special day. I hope you like your photographs!

Quick R&R in Italy

2007-08-17T13:07:00.000Z

We had a few days gap in the busy Summer schedules so the Barber family took off to my parents' house in Italy.

The Summer in the UK has stopped and started over the last few weeks, so it was nice to get 5 days of just hot weather. The views from the house are amazing and you really do get a sense of getting away from it all. Each hot day was followed by a fabulous sunset over the mountains

The kids had a great time - both acting up like little Italian film stars.

Ciao for now!!

Tracy & Mark Pre-Wedding Shoot 4/8/07

2007-08-06T12:20:00.000Z

This was our second attempt at doing this Pre-Wedding shoot with Tracy & Mark. We were due to have done this about 2 weeks ago but the weather really did get the better of us. But it was worth holding off few weeks this time because it actually felt like summer when we were doing the shoot down at Clarence Docks in Leeds.

Tracy & Mark are getting married in October and this was a great chance for us to have a chat and get to know each other a bit better. This is one of the great things about Pre-Wedding shoots - It puts the client at ease and they feel a lot more confident come their wedding day.

Jess & Joe 29th July 2007

2007-08-01T09:38:00.000Z

We tend not to cover more than one wedding in a weekend, but made an exception for Joe & Jess. They are such a great couple and we knew their wedding would be something special and it was.

The wedding was at Hazlewood Castle. It’s the first time we’ve worked there and it was a fantastic location. Once again the weather was very kind, and we were able to use the beautiful gardens for some of the photographs.

Jess and Joe had gone all out with the details of there wedding, and they had a really vibrant colour scheme for the day – acid pinks, yellows and oranges. It was visually stunning and a joy to photograph.

Jess & Joe, thank you for letting us share your day and here’s to a wonderful life together!

Carly & Chris Saturday 28th July 2007

2007-07-31T10:58:00.001Z

We had a great day at Carly and Chris’s wedding on Saturday. Everything was taking place at Woodlands Hotel – one of our favourite venues – and there was a wonderful, happy, relaxed atmosphere all day, from Chris and his entourage’s arrival in a very understated(!) stretch Hummer through the beautiful ceremony to the dancing at the evening do.

The Summer finally arrived this weekend, and we enjoyed unbroken sunshine all day, which made Pimm’s on the lawn all the more enjoyable. It was a wonderful wedding, and we know Carly and Chris can look forward to a very happy future together.

Have a great time in Las Vegas and we’ll see you when you get back!

Louise & Dave 7/7/7

2007-07-08T20:10:00.000Z

Lucky Sevens

Last weekends auspicious date meant it was the most popular date for many years for couples tying the knot.

We, however, only went to one of those weddings, but it was a wonderful and very special day – especially for Louise & Dave.

First of all, the weather: after weeks of torrential rain, no summer to speak of and a deluge of almost biblical proportions, the sun finally put in an appearance and shone all day. As photographers we always manage to get some great shots whatever the weather, but we’d be big fibbers if we said it doesn’t make a tiny bit of difference to the day. And of course it means a lot to the bride and groom to have nice weather. So on Saturday we really lucked out.

The wedding was in Easingwold just north of York – a beautiful part of the world. Louise and Dave made such a gorgeous, happy couple and guest of honour was their beautiful daughter (and flower girl) Toni who performed her duties very professionally indeed and was a natural in front of the camera.

Louise & Dave – it was an absolute pleasure to share your special day. Thank you for letting us be a part of it, and if you’re reading this in the Maldives, hope you’re having a wonderful honeymoon and we’ll see you soon!

Here are a few images from the day. We’ll post a slideshow in a week or two.

The Great Yorkshire Show 10th - 12th July

2007-07-03T21:22:00.000Z

We’re exhibiting at the Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate this year. We’re so excited about it. It’s a huge event and a great opportunity for us to meet some fantastic people and show off some of our work.

If you’d like to come along and meet us, we’re on stand number 219 (handily near the Food & Drink Hall) on Avenue 6. We’ve got some fantastic show offers so come along for a chat. We’re going to be taking a few pictures to record the days, so we’ll post up some images after the show once we’ve recovered.

For more information about the show click here SHOW DETAILS

Before that, though, this Saturday we’re covering Louise and Dave’s wedding near York. They’re a fantastic couple and we’re very much looking forward to the day. We’ll post a few pictures up here afterwards.

We’ll just keep our fingers crossed that the weather is kind for the next 10 days and the rain FINALLY stops

Malham Summer Ball Photo's

2007-06-24T18:18:00.000Z

What a night we had on Friday at the Malhamdale Midsummer Ball.

600 people from all over Malhamdale converged on the huge marquee for a fantastic night of good food, good wine and great company – oh and lots of dancing to classic cheesy 70’s music.

There must be something in the water up there as everyone certainly knew how to party -we were exhausted by the time we left at half past midnight, but the party was still going strong. I think maybe we should have had a few glasses of champagne just to boost our stamina!

Anyway as expected we were kept very busy all night recording the event, so I’ve attached a few pictures as a taster before the full slideshow goes online:

A big congratulations must go to Paul and the rest of the Ball Committee who have worked so hard over the past year organising this huge event – the evening was a great success and that’s due to their efforts. The Ball also managed to raise a huge amount of money on the night for their chosen good causes – Airedale Hospital’s Children’s Unit and Kirkby Malham Primary School. In fact we were treated to a wonderful performance on the night by some amazing young singers from the school.

The full slideshow of images will be online to view from Friday once I have worked on the pictures and uploaded them to my secure site. They will then be available to purchase online. For each 9 x 6” photograph sold we will be donating £1 to the Ball’s chosen good causes.

The link will be: SECURE SITE

The password needed to access the site will be: MALHAM.

Malham Summer Ball 2007

2007-06-22T14:31:00.000Z

Lou and I have a great job lined up tonight - we're covering the Malham Summer Ball up in the Yorkshire Dales.

It's a huge event with over 600 guests so my trigger finger will get plenty of use tonight. It's taking place in a huge marquee in the village itself - I visited yesterday to check it out and half of Malham seemed to be there arranging flowers and laying out tables. Take a look at some images below. It should be a fantastic event, despite the weather, which isn't looking too clever at the moment.

I will pop up some images when I've prcocessed them.

Phil x

Gemma & Paul 16th June 2007

2007-06-18T20:35:00.000Z

Well, we had a wonderful day at Gemma and Paul's wedding on Saturday. We had been constantly checking the weather forecasts all week leading up to it, and the outlook was getting grimmer and grimmer. We've worked in all weathers in the past so a bit of summer rain certainly didn't faze us, but when, on Friday, I found myself driving through 6 inches of water we kind of expected difficult conditions for Saturday.

We needn't have worried. The weather could hardly have behaved better for Gemma and Paul. During the church ceremony someone (us??!!) must have been praying extra hard, as when Mr. & Mrs. Williams stepped outside for the first time as husband and wife, the sun broke through and the wedding party was bathed in June sunshine.

The whole day was such a joyful occasion, and Gemma and Paul both radiated happiness all day. The reception was at
Crathorne Hall. It's the first time we've worked there an we were so impressed with the beauty of the location and the professionalism of all the staff who worked so hard to make Gemma and Paul's wedding day such a success. A special mention must go to our friends Wendy and Nick Sampson of flowers* who provided the beautiful floral arrangements (obviously!) They really did help make the most of the stunning location.

I'll post a few pictures of the day here, and I'll link into the full slideshow when I've done a bit more work on the images.

To Gemma & Paul: Thank you so much for allowing us to share in your special day. We wish you both lots of love and happiness for your future together.

Phil & Lou xxxx

Lenka & PJ 27th May 2007

2007-06-10T13:24:00.000Z

Wedding of Lenka & PJ

This was a great day even though it rained most of it. What was fab was the fact that Lenka & PJ didn't mind and we still did some great outdoor photographs. The umbrellas I think worked really well with Lenka & PJ embracing the weather.

Have a look at the slideshow. Just click play.

Katie & Chris Pre-Wedding Shoot

2007-06-08T18:00:00.000Z

Hi guys,
Hope you are all well. May has been a very busy month for us. So sorry for not putting anything up recently.
So I will put a few sets of images up over the next couple of days for you all to pass comment on.

First we did a pre-wedding shoot with Katie & Chris a couple of weeks ago at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

We were due to do the shoot at 2.30pm but the forecast in the morning was that it was going to be heavy rain.
So I rang Katie and arrange to start earlier at 10.30am. So a bit bleary eyed we met at 10.30am. For once the forecast was spot on as the final shots were being taken the rain started to come down. By the time I was back at the car we were in the middle of a real downpour. First time I think the forecast was right!

To see all the images click on SLIDESHOW

Just before the shoot was over, Katie's parents brought their lovely chocolate brown labrador over "OZZY!"
He was really lovely and friendly and was fascinated by the camera.

Natalie & Michael - Wedding 14th April

2007-05-02T21:31:00.000Z

We have just finished working on the images for Natalie & Michael who were married on the14th April.
It was a fab and interesting day. The order of the day was unusual as we did the couple photographs before the ceremony. I think it is wonderful when couples really take control of their wedding and do things the way they want them.

Natalie & Michael had a suprise for their guests as well which I was in on. They planned to arrrive at the venue in a helicopter.
So after finishing at the church we headed for a secrect rendezvous while the rest of the guests headed back to the Woodlands Hotel.
We did some shots with the helicopter before it took off. Then I had to race it back to the hotel to get shots of it landing.
The guests were certainly surprised when instead of a car arriving the helicopter landed in front of them.

Wedding Fair 29th April 2007

2007-04-27T22:48:00.000Z

Sunday 29th April 2007 we are at a wedding fair at Morley Town Hall, south Leeds.

The address is
Queens Street
Morley
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS27 9DY

It runs from 11am to 4pm so if you are still looking for a photographer for your big day - come down and meet us. Have a good look at some sample albums and other work. If you need another reason to come down - then it is also my birthday so you can come and wish me happy birthday.

Louise & Dave Pre-Wedding Shoot

2007-04-25T12:29:00.000Z

Last Saturday I took Louise & Dave into the centre of Leeds and did their pre-wedding shoot. They were looking for something a bit less traditional and more of a modern look. The two of them really enjoyed the day and now can't wait for their wedding day, which is in July.

View the full slideshow here SLIDESHOW

Jess & Joe Pre-Wedding Shoot

2007-04-22T18:47:00.000Z

It was Jess & Joe's pre-wedding shoot last weekend. These guys are getting married in July and asked us to do the shoot at Almscliff Cragg, which is near Harrogate. The rocks made for a great and different backdrop.

Recent wedding of Amanda & Clive

2007-04-18T18:25:00.000Z

This was a great intimate wedding we covered back in February. Amanda & Clive were a great couple and it was a real pleasure to cover their wedding. The venue was Oulton Hall in Leeds and a lovely setting for the day, even though it tried to rain all day.

Below are a few images from the day.

Easter Break

2007-04-09T16:10:00.000Z

Well the Easter break is almost over. I had a few days off to spend with the kids. We went to Harewood House to go on an Easter Egg trail. The kids managed to get their faces painted. See below.

Also I have bee working on some images from a couple of pre-wedding shoots we had done the week prior to Easter. These ones below were taken at the West Yorkshire Sculpture Park. www.ysp.co.uk

View the whole slideshow here SLIDESHOW

Great Day @ the fair

2007-02-05T16:40:00.000Z

Well it was the wedding fair yesterday at Great Victoria in Bradford. We met loads of really nice people who thought our work was really nice. Gave out loads of information packs and hopefully there will be a few people who will book us.

The picture is of our table all set and ready to go.

Come and meet us - Wedding Fair 4th February

2007-01-30T10:33:00.000Z

This coming Sunday we will be at The Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford.

We are taking part in their wedding fair - so if you are looking to get
married and want to come and have a look at our work, flick through
some sample albums or just want to say hello and have chat, we would love to meet you.

The hotel is a great venue and the owners Tomahawk Hotel Group have just finished a multi-million pound renovation combining period detail with start of the art design.

The hotel address is :

Great Victoria
Bridge Street
Bradford BD1 1JX

Click on the link on the right hand side of the blog and it will take you to their website.

See you on the 4th. Things get underway at 11.30am and finishes at 3.00pm

The Kids

2007-01-28T11:23:00.000Z

Had some spare time yesterday to spend with the kids. Thought I would update some of the pictures we have around the house. It is amazing at their age how quickly they change and grow up.

New Year 2007

2007-01-26T23:32:00.000Z

Well it is a New Year and it has taken me up to now to do my first post of 2007.

As the year goes on though I will become more active in the entries I make so please keep coming back now and again.

Please feel free to comment on any entry or more importantly for me the images I post throughout the year.

2007 promises to be a great year with already some fabulous people booking us to do their weddings this year. I will keep you up to date on any happenings, places we visit and people we meet.

To start with though I will post some images from the last wedding we did in 2006.

29th December 2006 to be precise.

The couple were Emma & Jonathan. We had a great day with the wedding being held at the Woodlands Hotel in Leeds.It was a really relaxed day and I think we got some great shots for them.

Let me know what you think

Yorkshire Wedding Photographer wins national award

2006-11-09T15:39:00.000Z

I have been awarded a commendation in the weddings category of professional photographer magazine’s photographer of the year 2006 awards.

The awards are designed to highlight and recognize the work of the UK’s leading professional photographers. The awards attracted over 16000 entrants in several categories. I was one of only 13 commended in the wedding category, and the only photographer in Yorkshire to be mentioned.

Check out the competition site - Professional Photographer

Nicole's Family

2006-10-26T16:44:00.000Z

Did a shoot the other weekend. Here are a few shots that were taken.
I will get a slideshow up later.

Caroline and Family + 2 Rabbits!

2006-10-08T07:34:00.000Z

I was asked to photograph Caroline's family the other day. Great fum and had a request to photograph the family rabbits.

Heather's Kids

2006-09-29T21:16:00.000Z

Finished a shoot today with Heather's kids. We did this down a ramp to an underground car park in the centre of Leeds. I think the backgrounds work really well.

Louise & Phil's Wedding

2006-09-28T06:56:00.000Z

Just finished processing some images from Louise and Phil's wedding. They had a great time and decided to have an afternoon 'High Tea' after the ceremony. Lots of really nice cakes and sandwiches.

The SLIDESHOW is now on line CLICK HERE

Alison & Russell's Wedding

2006-09-19T09:26:00.000Z

We had a fab time shooting Alison & Russell's wedding at the end of August. Russell took his best man and a couple of ushers to Dandy Browns in Leeds. They all had proper wet shaves. Brave men on the day of the wedding. Meanwhile Alison took it nice and easy at The Woodlands Hotel drinking the odd glass of Champagne.
Click on the link to see the slideshow.

The Robinson Family

2006-09-12T08:49:00.000Z

We met up with the Robinson family a couple of weeks ago and did a shoot for them. They were the winners of a prize that we had donated. It was an event called 'Girls Night In' held at Nomads in Leeds.

We did a couple of presentations of our work. Got some really good comments during the evening. To see the slide show of the rest of the Robinsons shoot click on the link. SLIDESHOW

Emma & Jonathan

2006-08-31T22:01:00.000Z

We did a re-run of of pre-wedding shoot last Saturday for
Emma & Jonathan. The first one was great but it just happened
to be blowing a force 10 gale. We also had some hail and rain
just for good measure.
This shoot was down in and around Brewery Wharf in Leeds
and was slighlty warmer.
Click in the link to see the slideshow. SLIDESHOW

The Hudson Family

2006-08-02T09:48:00.000Z

Had a great day last week when we did a shoot with the Hudson Family. The two boys playing up to the camera whilst the new addition was just fab and curious about her new surroundings.

To see the slideshow click HERE

Latest slideshow

2006-07-14T11:32:00.000Z

I have been putting together a slideshow for a presentation we are making.
Thought I would put it up for people to comment on.

SLIDESHOW

2006-07-11T16:59:00.000Z

2006-07-08T16:10:00.000Z

Hello

2006-07-06T08:35:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to my Blog.

Over the coming months and hopefully years! you will see images that we have taken at various lifestyle shoots and weddings. Please feel free to comment on them wether that be positive or critical!

I has been taking images for as long as I can remember. I have two children who I will post images of next. I decided that life was too short to spend most of it behind a desk. I would rather be behind a camera.

So Phil Barber Photography was born.

Along with Louise, my wife and business partner, hopefully we have has created a successful formula built on attention to detail, unsurpassed customer service and above all fab images.
As a photographer I want to produce a unique record of the most important people in your life, capturing their spirit, their individuality, what makes them special.

This is Phil’s world. We’d love to share it with you.